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If you are interested in transferring to another unit, I would say go for it, especially if it opens up different skill set opportunities. No one is great at anything without practice and if you work in a healthy workplace, other staff will be there to support you and help you in any way they can to make you better. Working in an ER is a great opportunity to master blood work skills. I am a new grad RN in the ER and us RNs and PCTs are constantly working together. I also would imagine you would receive a little additional training if hired. I say go for it and just be confident and ready to learn. You got this!

I think it all depends on you and your situation! Hospitals are moving towards BSNs.. not saying every nurse has a BSN in a hospital, but in terms of the future of nursing, hospitals want their nurses with BSNs (at least). It's all about continuing education. You'll have to get your BSN eventually, so whichever route works best for you right now should be the route you take :) One of my best friends was in the same boat you were in. She switched to nursing when she was a sophomore, but she is finishing her last year in her ADN program and she plans on doing a RN to BSN route. Good luck to you!! :)

Hey, I am planning on applying for this internship!! Is everyone submitting cover letters, references, and transcripts even though the application website says they won't be considered? Don't want to submit something if it's not needed, but also don't want to be looked past if I don't.

Alright... Hopefully I'm not the only one out there! I've been a CNA for over seven months now in a LTC facility and I have somewhat severe scoliosis. The majority of my pain comes from my lower spine area. Are there any CNAs out there with the same problem that have any words of advice to help with the pain during and after a long shift? I always do my best with body mechanics when it comes to transferring (using my knees, etc.) but I still feel pain. Any help would be appreciated.

Hello, I am currently a BSN nursing student at my university and I just became a licensed CNA in late May of this year. I have been working at a LTC facility by my school as a CNA and it's given me so much experience. It's not a perfect place, but it has many qualities that I love and I know it's better than some facilities in my area. Next summer, I plan on looking for another job in a hospital setting because I want to gain experience in different job environments. I'm an aspiring trauma nurse and I would love to become an Emergency Department Technician. From the job posting from my local hospital, it looks like having a nursing assistant certification qualifies you for the job. I wanted to know if anyone has been an EDT or knows of the job and if it would benefit me in the future. Also, what's a good way about talking to managers when looking to leave for another job? When interviewed, I mentioned that I would stay for at least a year, which would last me until June of 2017. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

If not a PCT, most hospitals hire nursing assistants (CNA).

Congrats on receiving your certification! I'm a new certified aide as well since May. I think the best advice I received was to have an open mind and realize that my first shifts by myself weren't going to be the best. Us aides at my facility are allowed two ten minute breaks and a thirty minute meal break, but for my first two weeks, I never found myself having time to even take those breaks. Obviously reality is much different than the classroom, so also be aware of that. Residents with dementia aren't always the easiest, so you have to be patient. Very, very, patient. I was extremely nervous too, but it gets way better and hopefully you have great coworkers. All the aides I work with are super helpful and if they aren't doing anything, they'll jump right in to help me with my section of residents. But really, keep an open mind! Good luck.

You're welcome! And thank you. Sorry I wrote such a long post, but I wish I would've known before my experience!

Congrats on almost graduating! I just got accepted into my bachelor's program for nursing. To be completely honest with you, if you're trying to gain experience, I don't know how much volunteering is going to do for you. What state are you from? I know everywhere is going to be different, but being a volunteer, you are extremely..EXTREMELY limited to what you can do. I volunteered at a local hospital by my school, here in Michigan, and I was very disappointed after. I wanted to do something that would benefit me for my future and also look good for my nursing school application, given how competitive. But like I said, I was ridiculously disappointed. My local hospital had a program for student volunteers. Volunteers were able to sign up online and were able to pick their unit, based on what four hour time slots worked with each student's schedule. I was only able to volunteer on the Stroke floor with my schedule, but I still looked forward to it. There was an orientation and I was given a volunteer badge, so I was pretty excited because I thought it was going to be super beneficial to my future. Honestly, I did nothing. Remember, you are a VOLUNTEER. You are not a RN yet. That means you have absolutely no certification which means you are very limited on what you can do. As a volunteer, my duties were minimal. I emptied trash and laundry bags, gave water to patients, and conversed with patients. That's it. You can't physically touch or help the patient with anything really because that's a liability. Say you were in a patient's room talking to them and they asked you to help them stand up so they could go to the bathroom. If you help that patient and they somehow fall, you and the hospital would be in a crazy amount of trouble. I'm sure you already know this. Like I said, I know every place is different so I could be totally off on what you're volunteering experience will be like. But if you are only a volunteer, with no certification, you cannot do anything really with patients. I had a friend who was lucky enough to be in the labor and delivery floor (honestly no one could volunteer in NICU) and she did less than what I did. Hope this helps. If you are looking for more experience, maybe try job shadowing. If you want real experience, become a nursing assistant until you graduate and just observe. Even that certification will give you more insight. I am a CNA and already feel like I've learned so much.

For working full time, you are doing very well! While I will say that nursing schools are really focused on GPA, there are other areas to an applicant. Sadly, grades are very important. Anatomy is all about memorization!!!! When I took anatomy, I was given a HUGE amount of information at once and our exam for that unit was only fifty questions. It's really all about memorization. Make up funny ways of remembering things. For cranial nerves, there are many naughty ways to remember all twelve. Also, don't wait until last minute to study. I used to make flash cards and practice while walking to class everyday. It was simple and it helped. Hope this helped.

I'm interested in receiving my ACLS and BLS Certifications and I was wondering if receiving an online certification is considered valid. Obviously there are things that the courses contain that would benefit to learn in-person, but if it came down to it, and I had to do the courses online (due to busy schedule), would these certifications be valid for places like a hospital? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks, A

I just got accepted into my BSN nursing program at Michigan State University and I will also be having to work 30-40 hours.. I'm living on my own and that means paying for it myself! I think it all depends on the person. I worked all year during my first year of college and that's when I was applying for nursing school. I finished with a 3.9. My classes were definitely not easy, but I made it work! Some nights I was up extremely late.. it's what it is. Good luck to you! I'll be working as CNA as well!

Congrats!! I recently got accepted in my university's BSN program as well. I'm so excited too..I've seriously never been so excited for school. I'm nervous for the future but really interested in the ability to learn more everyday! My mentors of the application process were also very negative. One guy would specifically tell students to not even consider replying. It's an extremely competitive program.

It's totally normal to be nervous!! It's really stressful to think about all the residents you're in charge of, especially if you've never done it before.. I just started out at my CNA job and I've only worked three shifts by myself (I just got off training). It's hard, I can't lie! All the other CNAs I work with have been doing it for years, so they can do things super fast, like transferring, changing briefs, showers, etc. They always have time to go on breaks and stuff and I never do! It all takes time and practice. Like I said, I just got off training and I already feel like I can change a brief much quicker. Even though your coworkers only let you do one person assists, you should ask if you can watch and learn to do hoyer and sit to stand. Technically, both those are two person assists so you learning and helping would work. Even though you're nervous, you should learn how to use them. Anytime I get nervous about a new skill or something I'm not confident with, I always think, I'm going to feel so much better once I do this at least once.. I promise, things get better. There will be good days and there will be bad days, you just have to accept that and do your best!

Thank you so much!